Collection Highlights
The Intelligence Office
1849
1959.46
Oil on canvas
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Woodcarving (owl)
Object name
Woodcarving (owl)
Date
ca. 1890-1920
Medium
Wood, paint
Dimensions
Overall: 4 x 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 in. ( 10.2 x 4.1 x 4.1 cm )
Description
Carved wooden owl on low, roughly square base; painted brown with spots of yellow.
Credit Line
Purchased from Elie Nadelman
Object Number
INV.7962
Marks
incised on base: "AWM"
Gallery Label
This woodcarving is tentatively attributed to Aaron Mountz, a Pennsylvania folk carver who worked in the tradition of Wilhelm Schimmel. Mountz probably produced less than fifty works, of which perhaps only a dozen or so survive. He typically left his carvings unpainted. However, some, it seems, were painted later by subsequent owners.
Provenance
The Folk Art Collection of Elie Nadelman
Bibliography
Black, Mary C., "Make believe and make do: American children's toys," Antiques, December 1962, pp. 620-623.
Christensen, Erwin O., The Index of American Design. New York, Macmillan, 1950, pp. 135-137.
Flower, Milton E., "Aaron Mountz, Primitive Woodcarver," Antiques, June 1960, pp. 586-587.
Flower, Milton E., "Wilhelm Schimmel and Aaron Mountz wood carvers," [exhibition catalog], Williamsburg, Va. : Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Collection, 1965.
Lichten, Frances. Folk Art of Rural Pennsylvania. New York, C. Scribner's sons; London, C. Scribner's sons, ltd., 1946. p. 115.
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
